be a match for the Local
power of Ireland--a State which has not one-seventh of the population or
one-twentieth part of the income of the dominant community?

One argument remains to be noticed which the opponents of Home Rule urge
as absolutely condemnatory of the measure, whereas, if properly weighed,
it is conclusive in its favour. Home Rule, they say, is a mere question
of sentiment. "National aspirations" are the twaddle of English
enthusiasts who know nothing of Ireland. What is really wanted is the
reform of the Land Law. Settle the agrarian problem, and Home Rule may
be relegated to the place supposed to be paved with good intentions. The
Irish will straightway change their character, and become a law-abiding,
contented, loyal people. Be it so. But suppose it to be proved that the
establishment of an Irish Government, or, in other words, Home Rule, is
an essential condition of agrarian reform--that the latter cannot be had
without the former--surely Home Rule should stand none the worse in the
estimation of its opponents if it not only secures a safe basis for
putting an end to agrarian exasperation, but also gratifies the feeling
of the Irish people as expressed by the majority of its representatives
in Parliament? Now, what is the nature of the Irish Land Question? This
we must understand before considering the remedy. In Ireland (meaning by
Ireland that part of the country which is in the hands of tenants, and
falls within the compass of a Land Bill) the tenure of land is wholly
unlike that which is found in the greater part of England. Instead of
large farms in which the landlord makes all the improvements and the
tenant pays rent for the privilege of cultivating the land and receives
the produce, small holdings are found in which the tenant does the
improvements (if any) and pays a fixed rent-charge to the owner. In
England the tenant does not perform the obligations or in any way aspire
to the character of owner. If he thinks he can get a cheaper farm, he
quits his former one, regarding his interest in the land as a mere
matter of pounds, shillings, and pence. Not so the Irish tenant. He has
made what he calls improvements, he claims a quasi-ownership in the
land, and has the characteristic Celtic attachment for the patch of
ground forming his holding, however squalid it may be, however
inadequate for his support. In short, in Ireland there is a dual
ownership--that of the proprietor, who has no interest i